ESPN

Ryan McGee

  (2:00 PM)

What's up my wine-covered brothers and sisters?! Welcome to the Internet's greatest Monday afternoon motorsports block party. How about another round of applause for that Mike Wallace? Until Martin Truex rolled that GE paint scheme of his out on Sunday, the bluest car of all time was driven by Mike Wallace - the #90 Helig-Meyers Ford Thunderbird!

Rich (Clearwater)

Ryan, When's the media going to acknowlege that Kyle B. is in a slump at the Sprint Cup level? The vast majority of the last 12 points races have been OUTSIDE the top 20...

Ryan McGee

  (2:02 PM)

What up Rich? Go back and look at my Power Rankings over the last month. I've been banging on Shrub about this for weeks. His wins and near-wins in Nationwide and Trucks have helped him mask the fact that he's been t-e-r-r-i-b-l-e in Cup over the last six weeks.

Jake (Manhattan, KS)

tsk tsk you are late to your own block party...

Ryan McGee

  (2:04 PM)

Actually, I was on time...but I had to wait for Mike Wallace to finish up. Can't be mad about a guy taking the time to try and drum up sponsorship for his little girl. She's the real deal. I first saw her putting the bumper to the boys in Bandeleros out at Lowe's Motor Speedway seven or eight years ago.

BiLL (Charlotte, NC Wooooooo.)

Will Joey Logano win a cup race before the end of the season?

Ryan McGee

  (2:05 PM)

And a big Nature Boy WOOOooo to you as well. I say yes. I think it'll come during the last ten races of the year. I have my eye on New Hampshire. If a New England boy were to win up there they might tear the grandstands down. I remember when Ricky Craven won the pole there back in the '90's and those people went berzerk.

Ryan (Gilbert, AZ)

Good Afternoon Ryan......If you were starting a long term Cup team, who would you rank as your top 5 drivers to take that seat? You can choose from any series.........Thanks

Ryan McGee

  (2:10 PM)

I'll stick with young guys since I'm building a new team here. If $ was no object and I could go grab whoever I wanted...1. Joey Logano, I am a believer2. Kyle Busch3. Justin Algaier4. Graham Rahal5. Austin Dillon

Saul (San Diego via Sacramento)

Kyle Bush in 9th placed. His last 4 races he finished 22, 13, 22, 23. It is a summer swoon? Any hidden issues? To much media scrutiny over his comments/guitar stuff?

Ryan McGee

  (2:11 PM)

Too much distraction. He needs to dial down the schedule in the lower series. Ask guys like Kevin Harvick and Mark Martin. They all wished they'd cut back on their Busch/Truck schedules a lot sooner than they did.

Matt (Chicago)

Kasey Kahne? I'm a big fan, but did NOT see that coming! What are his chase prospects now as we hit 10 to go?

Ryan McGee

  (2:13 PM)

Few did...including me. As for his Chanse chances, they are pretty darn good. He's only three points out of 12th and less than 100 points out of 7th!

sean (arizona)

What do you think about the blue deuce driving from 37th to 15th in 20 laps after wrecking. Looks like his brother isnt the only busch with mad skills.

Ryan McGee

  (2:15 PM)

Yeah, it's amazing because everyone seems to forget that Kurt is the Busch brother with a Cup championship and 19 wins...and he's sitting steady at 4th in points while little bro is falling faster than my stock portfolio.

Jeff, Jr. (Elgin, IL)

Ryan, has NASCAR toyed with banning cup drivers from Nationwide? Or at least banning the top Cup drivers from running, i.e. Hot Carl and Kid Kyle. It's such B.S.--Brad Kesolowski got robbed of another win.

Ryan McGee

  (2:17 PM)

Jeff, the ideas they are kicking around don't include a total ban, but rather some rules that would prevent a Cup driver from running for the Nationwide title. The ideas include a limit to the number of Nationwide races a Cup guy can run or simply preventing them from earning points. The problem is that NASCAR, track promoters, and ESPN all like Carl and Kyle running Naitonwide because it lends some star power to Saturdays.

Deuce (Denver, CO)

I read a rumor this morning that RCR might scale back to two cars next season because of sponsorship dollars. Who do you think would lose their seat and are situations like this being heard at other major teams that might have to contract?

Ryan McGee

  (2:21 PM)

Don't put much stock into those rumors Deuce. I know for a fact that Jack Daniels, General Mills, and Caterpillar all have multiple years left on their deals. Shell may, but I don't know that for sure. Forbes estimates that adding the fourth car this year increased the teams value by more than 25%, so I think RCR is fine. The loss of General Motors money hurts, but RC is a freaking financial wiz so I'm not too worried about his team. Their biggest worry right now is retaining Harvick after 2010.

Saul (San Diego via Sacramento)

Ed Hinton writes if Danica comes over, she would be having 42 feuds in her first month. So who would be first to take a swing at her after one her outburst?

Ryan McGee

  (2:23 PM)

My money would be on either Shrub or Smoke. But I wouldn't worry too much about it. I'm not a big believer that she's going to make the move...at least not very soon.

JIM (MS)

Ryan, didnt get a chance to see the race but what happened to the old man martin? I know it was a terrible finish but do you think he is a safe bet in the chase?

Ryan McGee

  (2:25 PM)

Anything that Mark didn't hit managed to hit him. Just a plain old bad day at the track. And I don't think he's a safe bet - he's only 12 points ahead of Kahne in 13th - but I would expect guys like Kyle Busch and Greg Biffle to drop out before I would expect the World's Fastest Old Man to drop out.

Jake (Las Vegas)

Montoya in the top 12, but can he stay there? And don't look now, but two RCR cars in still in the mix despite being lousy all year. This race to the Chase for those last couple of spots could be the best yet

Ryan McGee

  (2:26 PM)

I think he can. I have said all along, usually during Felipe from Dallas's weekly Montoya question, that the schedule is custom made for JPM to make a Chase run in late summer and early fall. He's solid at The Glen, Indy, Pocono, Atlanta, even Bristol and Richmond.

Ryan McGee

  (2:27 PM)

As for the RCR cars, I have no doubt that Bowyer and Burton can still sneak into the Chase, but the inconsistency is driving me nuts!

Darrin (Los Gatos)

How cool is it the Kyle Busch and Scotty Speed will be racing a LEXUS Doytona Prototype in the Paul Revere 250 in few weeks?

Ryan McGee

  (2:28 PM)

Very cool. I love seeing the Cup guys go sportscar racing. One of my favorite events to cover is the Rolex 24 at Daytona. And its good for sportscar racing to have the biggest American racing stars draw a little attention their way.

Debbie (Texas)

Fairly new to Nascar....BUT have been watching Nationwide the same amount of time....so the part about the "star power" doesn't sit well w/me......if you follow Nationwide - there are some stars there - keep Cup guys out!! Way to go Kasey

Ryan McGee

  (2:30 PM)

A lot of people are with you on that Debbie, inclding me. I grew up watching the old Busch Series and loved watching young guys like Kenseth and Dale Junior duke it out with the old guard like Randy Lajoie and Phil Parsons. Something very cool about that series having its own identity. And good luck to the Longhorns tonight in the College World Series championship series!

Dan (Hburg VA)

hey Ryan, who you think is favorite for next week at NH?

Ryan McGee

  (2:33 PM)

That used to be an easy question, Dan, but we've had six different NHMS winners over the last six races! I always like Denny Hamlin up there, so I'll take him as the favorite. Plus, that boy is due some good luck! And I'm not just saying that because you're both from Virginia...

Aaron (Bath, ME)

Hey Ryan, what did you think about the double file restarts at Sonoma? Also, do you think it's time for Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin to work on their road course driving skills?

Ryan McGee

  (2:35 PM)

Aaron is back! I loved them. If nothing else, I love double file restarts because I don't spend every restart totally confused about who is where and who is on the lead lap and why some guy that's 24th is starting up front, etc...

Ryan McGee

  (2:36 PM)

As for JJ and Denny...dude, they finished 4th and 5th and ahead of a former F1 driver...I think they'll take that.

Steve Toth (Charleston, SC)

Hi Ryan. I just wanted to say how happy I was to see The King in victory lane again. Let's hope that Kasey will pipe down a little now and get back to work.

Ryan McGee

  (2:38 PM)

My man Toth is in the house. Ladies and gentleman, this man has seen more racing than all of us combined and spent many a day and night with me producing TV magic for you folks during the late, great "RPM2Night" days. And yes, Steve, it was a magical moment to see His Royal Fastness in Victory Lane. Though I have been a little suprised at how shocked everyone seems to be over his drinking wine...his daddy used to run moonshine, folks, you think he's never had a drink before?!

Clay (Charlotte)

RYAN!!!! What's up? Hope you had a great weekend. I learned that catered b-day parties with 3 kiddie pools of adult beverages usually turn out well. So, if Smoke ends up winning the championship, we have to start talking about historical context, right? First year as a driver/owner and pulls out the championship, unheard of.

Ryan McGee

  (2:45 PM)

Man, if I'd known you were having beer and birthday cake served around kiddie pools I would have showed up at your house uninvited! No doubt a Smoke Cup would be historic. I still say that what Alan Kulwicki did in '92, basically building and setting up his own cars with only himself a few other guys, was even more impressive. But that was a different age and what Tony had done this year has been unreal all on its own.

Ryan McGee

  (2:45 PM)

Sorry I vanished for a minute...if you live in the Charlotte are don't use Windstream DSL for your Internet service. It's like someone jumping and down on a hose.

Chris (Pennsylvania)

What up Ryan!! Love your chats man!!! I'm a Kasey Kahne fan but just wondered what you thoughty of Carl Edwards bonehead move at the end of the race when he took out Ragan and Jr? Seems to me if someone did that to ol' Cousin Crybaby he would have been ready to tear into them.

Ryan McGee

  (2:58 PM)

Thanks for the props Chris. Carl wasn't the only one that brought his bumper to Sonoma. When Boris Said comes back to do his chat later this month someone be sure to ask him about that "trying to pass six cars in one move by dive-bombing into the right-hander" deal he attempted late in the race. The only place I've ever seen that work is on my PS2 with the "no damage after wrecking" option turned on.

Jake (Manhattan, KS)

I think we need a redo with the chat Ryan. After you switch internet providers of course.

Ryan McGee

  (2:59 PM)

No joke. I'll be on the phone here shortly...assuming of course that the line works.

Ryan McGee

  (2:59 PM)

No joke. I'll be on the phone here shortly...assuming of course that the line works.

Ryan McGee

  (2:59 PM)

No joke. I'll be on the phone here shortly...assuming of course that the line works.

Ray (Baton Rouge)

Geaux Tigers! That is all...

Ryan McGee

  (3:02 PM)

Indeed. Your people fed me all week in the shadow of Rosenblatt Stadium. Wish I was there tonight...Sorry for the issues folks. The motorsports block party was in the wall, but like Kurt Busch at Sonoma I will come roaring back even better next Monday at 2 PM ET.In the meantime, don't forget to tip your wait staff and enjoy The Mavericks.

Aaron (Bath, ME)

I'll take a chat with Ryan, hindered by crappy Internet connections, than no chat with Ryan at all!